I could have sworn we have done this numerous times before but all I could find was the Guide from 2014…  Oh well! Here come the recommendations for this year’s holiday season!

(By the way – those recommendations by Aki? They are still relevant. As are the Top 5 Boardgames I listed in February.)

This year I have been working in my local gaming store Puolenkuun Pelit (Tampere) and have quite a bit better grasp of thing I would like to recommend for holiday gifts. I have a few absolute favorites so let’s get them out of the way first.

Citadel Base Paint Set – Is someone you would like to buy a present to considering of getting into painting? Does one of your friends/family have Mansions of Madness or some other game with unpainted miniatures? The Base Paint Set is my most recommended product. It’s the easiest way to get into miniature painting and provides you with all you could possibly need when starting a hobby for a long time.

Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault – Nightvault is the successor of Shadespire and a board game/CCG/miniature game. It’s simple to learn and hard to master. It plays well and has smaller gaming times that other miniature games. It doesn’t require a whole lot of investment as you get all the components needed to play in the core set. It’s a great game and good gateway to larger scale miniature gaming (like my current favorite Age of Sigmar).

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition – Now I know I said this game might not be for me. Ville however had a lot to say about it and most of it was positive. I know it isn’t perfect as a game but the lore of it certainly is. The community of WFRP is also one of the most welcoming I have ever been a part of (try Strike-to-Stun for example). This is the product to get for people wanting something more from their rpgs but how might not be that willing to move to indie games just yet.

Far Cry 5 – FC5 is an older game (from this year nevertheless) and can be purchased cheaply as an used version. It isn’t too long or complicated. Just a very good shooter game in an open and lovingly crafted environment. (Yes, I should have said Red Dead Redemption 2, but I haven’t played it yet.)

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell – Start of an amazing Saxon Chronicles the Last Kingdom was recently added to the Netflix’s library. The show itself isn’t the best there is but is enjoyable and doesn’t take too many liberties from the original story (though it does take them). I have enjoyed Cornwell’s books for years and even though I think that Warlord Chronicles (reimagination of the Arthurian stories) might be a bit better the Saxon Chronicles isn’t going to end apparently ever and is more relevant now with that Netflix show.

Arkham Horror Living Card Game – In the top of those recommendations from February Arkham Horror LCG has been The Game for me this year. And I bought it just a couple of weeks ago. It tells stories of pulpish Cthulhu nature (in the same vein as other Cthulhu-themed games by Fantasy Flight Games) but it does this in an controlled environment of decks. With the base set you get a campaign of three scenarios that tell a single (great) story. I’m not going into further details about this game now since I’m going to write a post about it this week. So stay tuned for more deeper trying out-experience.

So there you have it. My top recommendations for this year’s holidays. May you have a very scary Solstice and eldritch new year!